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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 883 records · Page 49
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Current Status of the DOE/NNSA Nuclear Criticality Safety Program Hands-On Criticality Safety Training [Abstract]

The U.S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP) has conducted two-week Nuclear Criticality Safety (NCS) Practitioner courses since 2011 to support the training and qualification of new NCS staff. The course was developed in accordance with the American National Standard Institute/American Nuclear Society (ANSI/ANS) standard for NCS training and qualifications (ANSI/ANS-8.26-2007). In 2013, an NCS Manager’s course was developed for process supervisors, managers, regulators, and other professionals with NCS-related responsibilities. This course was revised in 2019 for Criticality Safety Officers (CSOs) based on an NCSP Criticality Safety Support Group tasking (2018-01). This course was piloted at the Nevada Field Office and the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) in June 2021. These courses consist of the following training components: classroom education, facility training, and hands-on subcritical and critical experiments training. The two-week Practitioner course offers a week of classroom training, with practical workshops and exercises focused on teaching students how to perform an NCS evaluation. The second week of training involves hands-on critical and subcritical experiments and measurements. The first week is offered in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the DOE Nevada Field Office or the National Atomic Testing Museum. Depending on the student’s clearance level, the second week is offered at Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) (uncleared and L-cleared students) or at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (Q-cleared students). The one-week Manager’s course is offered at SNL or NCERC, depending on clearance or interest, and includes classroom and hands-on critical and subcritical experiments and measurements. This paper provides an overview and status report for the DOE/NNSA NCSP training courses in NCS and to provide information about future course offerings. This paper will also discuss the challenges associated with executing the training courses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2-week Practitioner and 1-week manager courses are currently offered twice per year and adjustments are made based upon demand.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Demand Shocks and Supply Chain Resilience: An Agent Based Modelling Approach and Application to the Potato Supply Chain

The food supply chain has experienced major disruptions from both demand and supply sides during the COVID-19 pandemic. While some consequences such as food waste are directly caused by the disruption due to supply chain inefficiency, others are indirectly caused by a change in consumer’s preferences. As a result, evaluating food supply chain resilience is a difficult task. With an attempt to understand impacts of demand on the food supply chain, we developed an agent-based model based on the case of Idaho’s potato supply chain. Results showed that not only the magnitude but also the timing of the demand shock will have different impacts on various stakeholders of the supply chain. Our contribution to the literature is twofold. First, the model helps explain why food waste and shortages may occur with dramatic shifts in consumer demand. Second, this paper provides a new angle on evaluating the various mitigation strategies and policy responses to disruptions beyond COVID-19.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2022

The State of Virtual Healthcare

In recent years, telehealth or telemedicine has become an integral component of health systems. During the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth became the primary route of treatment for patients and doctors. The goals of telehealth are to make healthcare more accessible to patients who have limited mobility, time, or transportation options and those who live in rural or isolated communities. Telehealth aims to improve coordination and care between healthcare teams and their patients. While addressing accessibility, telehealth sets health systems on a path to meet their decarbonization and energy reduction goals. The document provides insights and best practices for telehealth, including carbon reduction, space utilization, equitable access, and technology.

Better Buildings, telehealth, carbon footprint↗
DOE OSTI2023

Fort Erie Case Study - Transition from Fixed-Route to On-Demand Transit

Rural and smaller-sized communities in North America face unique mobility challenges due to their low population density, lower public transit spending per capita compared to major cities, and a high reliance on private vehicles. In recent years, communities such as Fort Erie, Ontario, have restructured or advanced their public transit systems using on-demand services. Fort Erie is a relatively sparsely populated region of 32,901 residents, spread across a land area of 166 square kilometers (64 square miles), for an average population density of 193 residents per square kilometer (500 per square mile). In October 2021, the town implemented a mobility-on-demand system integrated with smartphone software to replace its fixed-route community bus system, which consisted of four buses with three routes, each with a roughly 1-hour, one-way loop. The new service utilizes a fleet of six minivans, two of which are retrofitted with wheelchair-accessible ramps. The system may require that a passenger requesting a standard van walk up to 400 meters (a quarter mile) to their pickup location to optimize vehicle routing while providing origin-to-destination service. The on-demand system proved effective in providing service, eclipsing pre-pandemic ridership by 40%, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions per ride by 63%, and decreasing the cost to the town per ride by 29%. This report documents both the previous system and the new system in terms of routes, ridership, costs, fuel, and other notable system parameters. This work is part of an ongoing series of case studies on providing small communities with on-demand, right-sized vehicle service coupled with a smartphone application.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,ENERGY PLANNING, POLIC↗
DOE OSTI2023

Connecting Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure to Commercial Buildings

Electric vehicles (EVs) are growing in popularity and gaining meaningful market share with record sales year over year in the last decade. EV charging equipment, also known as EV chargers (EVC) or EV supply equipment (EVSE), must proportionally match the growing number of new EVs on the road for a comparable experience to gas-powered vehicles. The majority of EV charging currently happens at residential buildings. However, demand for EV charging at commercial buildings will significantly increase with wider mainstream EV adoption and as businesses return to more normal operation following COVID-19 pandemic disruptions. Charging equipment can include various sub-systems like power conditioning module, control software, safety devices, metering, communication, cooling, connectors, and its wiring. EV charging at commercial buildings could be used for public, workplace, and commercial fleet charging. This document aims to describe how EVC can be connected to commercial buildings, including considerations for facility managers, and the effects that charging will have on the buildings electrical distribution system. More specifically, this resource provides an overview of: understanding EV charging basics: how charging equipment connects to the building and to EVs; required infrastructure updates needed at the building site to connect EVC to existing distribution systems; network strategies for cost-effective operation; metering and utility considerations for billing and incentives; charging equipment ownership options; future trends in EVC connection to buildings.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,ENERGY CONSERVATION, C↗
DOE OSTI2021

Promoting a Rapid Deployment of New Services for Remote Reference at a National Laboratory

Libraries around the world use Springshare library products to expand their reference and information literacy services. The scholarly literature primarily addresses the use of Springshare’s LibGuides and LibChat in academic libraries. During the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual reference became the norm at all types of libraries, many turning to new tools to serve their patrons. This article describes the implementation and marketing of LibGuides and LibChat applications at the Los Alamos National Laboratory Research Library at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). These Springshare tools helped the LANL Research Library close service gaps during the COVID-19 work from home initiative at LANL.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗
DOE OSTI2023

NREL On-Demand Transit Research and Fort Erie Case Study

On-demand systems have increased in popularity in recent years, especially in rural and smaller-sized communities. This presentation provides a brief introduction to NREL's on-demand mobility research and an in-depth case study of the town of Fort Erie, Ontario. Fort Erie is a relatively sparsely populated region of 32,901 residents, spread across a land area of 166 square kilometers (64 square miles), for an average population density of 193 residents per square kilometer (500 per square mile). In October 2021, the town implemented a mobility-on-demand system integrated with smartphone software to replace its fixed-route community bus system, which consisted of four buses with three routes, each with a roughly 1-hour, one-way loop. The new service utilizes a fleet of six minivans, two of which are retrofitted with wheelchair-accessible ramps. The system may require that a passenger requesting a standard van walk up to 400 meters (a quarter mile) to their pickup location to optimize vehicle routing while providing origin-to-destination service. The on-demand system proved effective in providing service, eclipsing pre-pandemic ridership by 40%, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions per ride by 63%, and decreasing the cost to the town per ride by 29%. This presentation documents both the previous system and the new system in terms of routes, ridership, costs, fuel, and other notable system parameters. This work is part of an ongoing series of case studies on providing small communities with on-demand, right-sized vehicle service coupled with a smartphone application.

emerging technology↗
DOE OSTI2020

Acute shortage ventilator

We have implemented an ″Acute Shortage Ventilator″ (ASV) motivated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the possibility of severe ventilator shortages in the near future. The unit cost per ventilator is less than $400 US excluding the patient circuit parts. The ASV mechanically compresses a self-inflating bag resuscitator, uses a modified patient circuit, and is commanded by a microcontroller and an optional laptop. It operates in both Volume-Controlled Assist-Control mode and a Pressure-Controlled Assist-Control mode. It has been tested using an artificial lung against the EURS guidelines. The key design goals were to develop a simple device with high performance for short-term use, made primarily from common hospital parts and generally-available non-medical components, and at low cost and ease in manufacturing.

Breur, Sander↗
DOE OSTI2023

Improved Measurements of Nonlinear Integrable Optics Invariants at IOTA

Nonlinear integrable optics (NIO) are a promising novel approach at improving the stability of high intensity beams. Implementations of NIO based on specialized magnetic elements are being tested at the Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA) at Fermilab. One method of verifying proper implementation of these solutions is by measuring the analytic invariants predicted by theory. The initial measurements of nonlinear invariants were performed during IOTA run in 2019/20, however the covid-19 pandemic prevented the full-scale experimental program from being completed. Several important improvements were implemented in IOTA for the 2022/23 run, including the operation at higher beam energy of 150 MeV, improved optics control, and chromaticity correction. This report presents the results of improved measurements of nonlinear invariants.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

High-performance computing leadership to enable advances in artificial intelligence and a thriving compute ecosystem

The past three decades have witnessed the widespread adoption of high-performance computing (HPC) as an essential tool in the advancement of science. From accelerating critical research in the wake of a global pandemic to climate modelling and national security, HPC has become integral to the most cutting-edge scientific research around the world and across application domains. The global competition to debut the next fastest supercomputer keeps pushing the field forward. Meanwhile, increasing capabilities are bringing hallmarks of science fiction, such as artificial intelligence (AI), into daily life. However, the tremendous power of new computing systems comes with an increased concern about equitable access to these resources and their impact on supporting a thriving workforce.

Tourassi, Georgia↗
DOE OSTI2023

Heat pumps in the United States: Market potentials, challenges and opportunities, technology advances

The US heat pump market has been affected by the socioeconomic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Biden administration’s goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 through electrification and clean energy technologies is accelerating the research, development, and deployment of heat pumps in the United States for improved energy performance, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and wider adoption. The US heat pump market has experienced steady growth since 2010. In 2020, heat pumps surpassed gas furnace shipments for the first time, and the trend maintains through 2022. The current priority is to improve the affordability of energy and equitable access to heat pump technologies through cost reductions and further accelerate this trend. In addition, current R&D includes emphases on alternative refrigeration technology and lower–global warming potential refrigerants to reduce direct emissions. Heat pump market share is expected to grow as regulatory policies and financial incentives steer the building sector toward decarbonization. This paper reviews policies and market trends, discusses the challenges and opportunities in the current policy landscape, and reviews current research in the United States.

Malhotra, Mini↗
DOE OSTI2023

Data-Driven Whole-Genome Clustering to Detect Geospatial, Temporal, and Functional Trends in SARS-CoV-2 Evolution

Current methods for defining SARS-CoV-2 lineages ignore the vast majority of the SARS-CoV-2 genome. We develop and apply an exhaustive vector comparison method that directly compares all known SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences to produce novel lineage classifications. We utilize data-driven models that (i) accurately capture the complex interactions across the set of all known SARS-CoV-2 genomes, (ii) scale to leadership-class computing systems, and (iii) enable tracking how such strains evolve geospatially over time. We show that during the height of the original Omicron surge, countries across Europe, Asia, and the Americas had a spatially asynchronous distribution of Omicron sub-strains. Moreover, neighboring countries were often dominated by either different clusters of the same variant or different variants altogether throughout the pandemic. Analyses of this kind may suggest a different pattern of epidemiological risk than was understood from conventional data, as well as produce actionable insights and transform our ability to prepare for and respond to current and future biological threats.

Jacobson, Daniel↗
DOE OSTI2023

Evaluating Electric Vehicle Public Charging Utilization in the United States Using the EV WATTS Dataset: Preprint

The utilization of electric vehicle (EV) charging in the United States is a rapidly evolving puzzle further complicated by changes in travel habits brought on by the global COVID-19 pandemic. The EV WATTS dataset is the largest publicly available dataset on the utilization of EV charging in the United States and provides key insights into the changing patterns of public vehicle charging and vehicle use as EV range increases, commute patterns evolve, and more infrastructure becomes available.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Offline Arterial Signal Timing Optimization based on Virtual Phase Link Model - A Real-world Case Study

Conventional signal timing for arterial usually takes bottom-up approaches. Engineers optimize each individual intersection first and then coordinate them by adjusting the offsets. This work is based on the Virtual Phase-Link (VPL) model, a street traffic model designed for online traffic model predictive control, to obtain a top-down offline arterial signal timing. We Studied the Shallowford Rd. in Chattanooga, TN and found that the inconsistency in intersection capacities along the arterial could lead to some intersections becoming bottlenecks. Signal timing is a significant factor that affect the intersection capacities. We realized that the VPL-based model can guarantee the consistency in intersections along an arterial. We therefore adopted the VPL-based model and developed an offline signal timing optimization approach. The proposed timing derived from the VPL-based offline signal timing optimization showed very good results in simulation. The Chattanooga Department of Transportation adopted the optimized timing obtained from the proposed approach and gave positive feedbacks to the research team. We also collected field experiment data, which demonstrated overall energy reductions and speed improvements on some sections of the Shallowford Rd. arterial. We will continue the experiment when the COVID-19 pandemic impact subsides to have a more robust quantitative evaluation.

Wang, Qichao↗
DOE OSTI2024

Navigating Urban Mobility: Evaluating Infrastructure Strategies for Enhanced Energy-Efficient Access for Micromobility

Cities and communities continue to expand pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure as part of their sustainable mobility and post-pandemic recovery plans. However, the emergence of micro-mobility (e.g., electric bicycles) has created new challenges for urban transport planning. As the popularity of micro-mobility modes has grown, so have safety concerns due to rising injuries, thus challenging many cities to come up with regulatory measures that enable efficient access while minimizing negative impacts from micro-mobility. Leveraging the Open-Source Tool (Mobility Energy Productivity metric), powered by an open-source dataset (OpenStreetMap), and enhanced through the incorporation of perceived discomfort (level-of-traffic stress), this research study focuses on evaluating the accessibility implications of infrastructure planning and regulatory measures for micro-mobility. Five scenarios pertaining to level of traffic stress, sidewalk access, traffic calming, and bike lane coverage were tested in the Denver-Aurora region in Colorado. Maximum improvements in energy-efficient access are realized when allowing sidewalks for micro-mobility use. Cities and planning agencies could leverage this information to assess sidewalk use policies for micro-mobility, while ensuring pedestrian safety and ADA access. Results indicate that expansion of bicycle lane coverage yields 11% accessibility benefits for micro-mobility compared to implementing traffic calming measures yielding 3% accessibility improvements. Further, it was observed most of the population in the Denver-Aurora region is experiencing lower accessibility in-part due to presence of a high-stress connections in the network. Although not generalizable, the use of open-source data and access calculation methodology, make this analysis reproducible and transferable to other locations.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Evolution of Wayfinding Within Airports

The process of navigating within airports has evolved over the years, with various technologies emerging to complement static signage. Historically, wayfinding began with static signage and airport staff members providing personal guidance, before progressing into digital signs, interactive kiosks, and displays. In recent years, wayfinding has continued along its digital path using mobile applications, indoor positioning technology, and even robot guides. With ever- larger airport facilities and a growing number of travelers, the future of wayfinding will likely be heavily linked to further digital developments such as facial recognition, augmented-reality technology, and autonomous vehicle navigation. This report delves into the history of interior wayfinding in airports, its present state, and the anticipated future. Key wayfinding technologies are discussed in detail, with an emphasis on emerging smartphone applications. Other considerations such as traveler stress, legal issues, pandemic safety, and language barriers are included. A wayfinding framework is proposed, with static wayfinding technologies serving as the base upon which dynamic and personalized digital technologies are built. In this framework, electronic wayfinding technologies do not replace - but rather augment - traditional methods. These technologies can be integrated into existing wayfinding systems for a seamless traveler experience.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Contribution to the IRPHEP handbook since Physor 2018

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), the International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation Project (IRPhEP) continue to preserve and evaluate integral reactor physics experiment data to support nuclear energy and technology needs. International contributions are collated within the International Handbook of Evaluated Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments (IRPhEP Handbook). The 2021 edition of the IRPhEP Handbook now contains data for 57 unique nuclear facilities with benchmark specifications for 169 experimental series, of which four are draft evaluations. Distributed with the IRPhEP Handbook and available online is the IRPhEP Database and Analysis Tool (IDAT), allowing users to search and interrogate the data. Since Physor 2018, there have been 11 minor revisions to existing benchmark evaluations, significant revisions to two evaluations, one draft evaluation, and nine new evaluations. The corona virus pandemic has delayed international activities supporting the production of additional content for the IRPhEP Handbook. However, efforts continue for numerous endeavors to complete new reactor physics benchmark evaluations to support current and future validation needs. Those interested in serving as evaluators and/or reviewers are strongly encouraged to participate. This paper provides a summary of IRPhEP content and activities since Physor 2018. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

INSEN 2023 Yearly Updates

The International Nuclear Security Education Network (INSEN) is the primary international network for nuclear security educational initiatives. INSEN plays a central role in fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing among nuclear security education experts worldwide. In the wake of the global pandemic, INSEN remained committed to strengthening nuclear security education and resumed in-person activities. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed its continued dedication and support to the network’s mission and presented new activities aimed at elevating global nuclear security efforts. Throughout the year and during the annual and leadership meetings, working groups showcased their vibrant work and presented innovative ideas, invigorating the attendees’ dedication to their crucial work. Comprehensive presentations by the IAEA during the INSEN annual and leadership meetings highlighted the importance of the network and its continued commitment to promoting nuclear security on a global scale. One notable and encouraging trend was the increase in network membership, signifying a growing commitment to nuclear security worldwide and the continued interest in nuclear security from member states and international organizations. The value of initiatives such as the Women in Nuclear Security Initiative was emphasized at the annual meeting, accenting the need for diverse perspectives and expertise to ensure a secure nuclear landscape.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗